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Well I cannot say I didn’t see this coming, he’s been running amok in Texas politics for as long as I can remember and eventually every dog has its day…
Perry calls it a “Political Farce” but is it farcical?
To make a long story short, Perry the Republican Texas Governor has been replacing every Democrat in office with a Republican, and when a particular Democrat stood up to him by not resigning, he cut the budget to her entire department, which is illegal. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that this particular office investigated the ethics of elected officials.

Like this:

Racism and Money are both topics that spur much dialogue, debate, research, controversy, and a plethora of emotions.

Although some people believe that we are now a “post racist” society, there are many who still believe that because of historical institutional contexts, racism still very well exists in today’s society.

Moving along to the subject of money,

even typing the phrase “money in America” into Google brings forth a wide array of topics, resources, and information from images of the US dollar, to articles on the use of money as a form of social control, to money and politics, and even wealth inequality in America.

So let’s once again combine the two concepts “Money and Racism.” When I first think of these two concepts together, my mind instantly tries to make a correlation between the two and prompts instant questions like: Is money one of the institutional ideologies that contribute to racism? Is money one of the major reasons for the proliferation of racism in America? How did money and racism contribute to the success and decline of slavery in America? Does racism play into the economic disparities among racial/ethnic groups in the US? Is money a system of social control that involves racism in some way?

Again, there are certainly opposing views and opinions about all of these questions. In my opinion, our capitalist society yields both positive and negative influences on our economic and social positions as a nation, and racism definitely plays into this. We cannot deny that there is economic disparity within this country that is directly tied to racism. We also cannot deny that there are systems of oppression in place that contribute to the disparity of wealth but also contribute to the inability for certain people to progress economically. This means that our ideal of capitalism that we hold so near and dear in society is tainted and distorted.

One thing I believe that we can and should do is discuss this issue in a civil manner. While I continue to explore the correlation between these two concepts, feel free to take a look at other viewpoints/sources of info. on the web and comment that I have provided below.

I believe this to be a fascinating topic of discussion that is long overdue on BBS. Will you contribute to the discussion? Your contributions are strongly encouraged!

On a deeper level, race matters because the economy we currently have is deeply racialized. Race and racism are central to how the dominant economy functions, whom it serves, and who pays the costs of obscene wealth accumulation and environmental unsustainability. Race and class in the United States are inextricably intertwined, beginning with slavery and Native American genocide and continuing to this day with the struggle of immigrants. In short, how we live in and experience the economy differs drastically depending on our race and class.

I think that this is something that should surely be addressed because people of color have long been aware that they are ignored at the top and only are consequential when it serves the purpose of people who are already benefitting from the policies in place. Which is why many have no issue with resigning themselves from attempting to do better or insist on working outside of the common wisdom when it comes to finance.

Like this:

“Circular No. 3591, Re: Involuntary Servitude, Slavery, and Peonage.” Francis Biddle to All United States Attorneys, Dec. 12, 1941, File 50-821, Record Group 60, Department of Justice, National Archives.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERALWASHINGTON, D.C.

December 12, 1941

CIRCULAR NO. 3591

TO ALL UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS:

RE:Involuntary Servitude,Slavery, and Peonage

A summary of the Department files on alleged peonage violations discloses numerous

instances of “prosecution declined” by United States Attorneys, the chief reason stated
as being the absence of the element of debt. It is apparent that these determinations
were reached after considering the facts at hand only in accordance with the case law
under Section 444, Title 18, U.S. Code, which holds that debt is the “basal element of
peonage.” It is further disclosed that only in a negligible number of instances was
consideration given these complaints in light of:

(a) Section 443, Title 18, U.S. Code, which punishes for causing persons

to be held in involuntary servitude, regardless of the existence of

a debt.

(b) Section 51, Title 18, U.S. Code, which punishes for conspiracy to

deprive citizens of rights secured to them by the Constitution,

particularly the right to be free from slavery and involuntary

servitude.

(c) Section 52, Title 18, U.S. Code, which punishes persons vested with

official authority who aid or cause others to suffer deprivation of

rights secured to them by the Constitution, particularly the right

to be free from slavery and compulsory servitude.

(d) Section 88, Title 18, U.S. Code, the general conspiracy statute,

which may be employed in combination with Section 443 or Section 52.

It is the purpose of these instructions to direct the attention of the United

States Attorneys to the possibilities of successful prosecutions stemming from alleged
peonage complaints which have heretofore been considered inadequate to invoke federal
jurisdiction. It is requested that the spelling out of peonage under Section 444 be
deferred in favor of building the cases around the issue of involuntary servitude and
slavery under Sections 443, 51[,] and 52, disregarding entirely the element of debt. If,
however, it is found that a claimed debt is the basis of the intimidation to compel one

to the service of another, a separate count under Section 444 should be included in the

– 2 –

indictment. Evidence of such debt, of course, may likewise be employed as an additional
circumstance to prove intimidation under the counts based on Sections 443, 51, and 52.
In any event the Government should henceforth emphasize and depend upon the issue of in-
voluntary servitude and slavery in lieu of peonage (debt plus involuntary service) in
prosecuting this type of case.

The United States Attorneys are instructed, therefore, to consider such complaints

in accordance with the following statutes and authorize prosecutions where anyone or more
of the following conditions exist, regardless of the existence of debt real or claimed:

(a) Section 443, Title 18, U.S. Code

carrying or enticing of any person from one place to another

in order that he may be held in slavery or involuntary servitude;

causing another by force, fraud or intimidation to enter and

remain in another’s employment;

causing one to be held by threats, as well as by force,

and whether such threats are of prosecution, arrest or imprison-

ment or by threats of bodily harm;

holding another by threats of prosecution, even under a valid

law; the validity of the law not justifying its use for the criminal

purpose of causing compulsory service by intimidation;

where one does not stay in his employment of his own free will

but only in accordance with the will of his master or employer, in-

voluntary service exists. [sic] — “service” does not necessarily mean

labor, i.e., a man may be in that state if he is held to be made to

work but escapes before he has begun such work;

by falsely accusing another of crime and carrying him before a

magistrate in order that he may be convicted and put to hard labor

in consequence of which such person is convicted and put to hard

labor, the false accuser at the time having the purpose or design

to hire such person or to enable some other person to hire him.

(b) Section 51, Title 18, U.S. Code

If two or more persons conspire or combine to do any of the

acts outlined above, they are guilty of a conspiracy to deprive

the person, if he is a citizen of the United States, of the free

exercise or enjoyment of the right and privilege secured to him

by the Constitution of the United States to be free from involun-

tary servitude, and are indictable accordingly.

(c) Section 52, Title 18, U.S. Code

This section is applicable to public officers, judges, sheriffs,

local constabulary, etc., who act under color and in the name of

their authority in perpetrating any of the acts listed above in viola-

tion of a person’s rights [sic] to be free from involuntary servitude and

slavery as secured to him by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

In the matter of control by one over the person of another, the circumstances

under which each person is placed must be determined, i.e., the subservience of the
will of one to the other. Open force, threats or intimidation need not be used to cause
a person to go involuntarily from one place to another to work and to remain at such

work; nor does evidence of kind treatment show an absence of involuntary servitude.

– 3 –

In the United States one cannot sell himself as a peon or slave — the law is fixed and

established to protect the weak-minded, the poor, the miserable. Men will sometimes sell
themselves for a meal of victuals or contract with another who acts as surety on his [sic] bond to
work out the amount of the bond upon his [sic] release from jail. Any such contract is
positively null and void and the procuring and causing of such contract to be made violates
these statutes.

It is not necessary that the defendants be themselves charged with holding a person in

a condition of compulsory servitude, a showing of aiding in holding or returning one to that

condition is sufficient.

Procedure

1. The United States Attorneys should contact local law enforcement officials by letter,

circular, conference, or any other means found effective for seeking state wide [sic] cooperation
and advise them that the practices outlined above will be prosecuted by the Federal Government.

2. In those states where legislatures have enacted criminal statutes to enforce labor

contracts, United States Attorneys from the various districts therein should promptly notify
the local magistrates, sheriffs, and other law enforcement officers, that such laws are re-
pugnant to the provisions of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
and that action to enforce such statutes may subject the local officials to federal prosecution.

3. In the interest of consistency and uniformity in the method of investigation, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation has been requested to direct all original complaints in this
field to the Civil Rights Section of the Criminal Division of the Department for clearance and
instruction before embarking upon a formal investigation. No investigation or prosecution of
these cases should be commenced through the offices of the various United States Attorneys
without Departmental sanction. Because of the importance of unified and consistent prosecu-
tion policy in these cases, it is further requested that no indictments under these statutes
be sought without obtaining authority from the Department.

4. To assure emphasis on the issue of involuntary servitude and slavery in considering

these cases on the one hand and to minimize the necessity of relying upon the element of debt
to fix jurisdiction on the other, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been requested to

change the title on its reports from “Peonage” to read “Involuntary Servitude and Slavery.”
Henceforth, Peonage will be considered as secondary to involuntary servitude
and slavery investigations.

Prisons are expensive. The war on drugs fills prisions with people. We pay for prisons. Prisons make money for corporations. We have a public school to prision pipeline to keep these corporations profitable because we are pumped with fear daily.

Now that that’s out of the way, the incentive is to keep people going back to prision so corporations can keep making money, but it offers no benefit to the community in which these criminals come from. I don’t think you should go to prision for 20 years for smoking weed, but that’s another subject.
The article talks about changing the incentive from a reincarceration based system to a reformation based one:

“There’s a better way. Instead of encouraging incarceration, incentivize performance. How might the performance of the department of corrections be measured? By recidivism. A drop in reincarceration would offer evidence that well-performing prisons are not places that breed more criminals but provide rehabilitation instead.”

It’s all motivated by money, but still it’s a worthy cause. Redirection of the money will change the fortunes of millions of incarcerated people, and have a large impact on society as a whole. After all the current prision system is purely evil, personally speaking and academically speaking, its horrifically dysfunctional. Any system that purposefully prepares children for incarceration is sociopathic.

more often than not, genuinely good (white) people (are) stuck in the belief that racists are exotic monsters, who are nonetheless resentful of conceding the privilege of being able to control the public consensus on race